Make Time, Skip Meals

July 7, 2016

According to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics Americans spend an average of 67 minutes a day—4 work days a month—eating and drinking, not including planning meals and shopping for food. What if there was a healthy way to cut back on that amount of time?

A small, but growing, number of companies, claim to have found an alternative—complete meals in drink form. While meal replacements and food supplements, primary designed to improve nutrition or weight loss efforts, the goal of these drinks is to save time. The companies typically gear the drinks to start-up companies, who offer them to employees.

If you’re thinking of trying complete meal drinks to increase your productivity or the amount of time you have for activities you enjoy, beware. Researchers caution, “There’s only so much people can do,” and productivity declines after about 50 hours of work a week. Also, "We have great research that human happiness is based on our connection with other people. And there is no better way to connect than sitting down, sitting across a table, and sharing a meal."